Measures to cut greenhouse gas emissions, with an emphasis on pollution
caused by vehicles, were on agenda during an inner cabinet meeting on
Wednesday in Athens, with Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis chairing the
meeting at his maximos mansion office.

Afterwards, Town Planning, Public Works and Environment Minister George
Souflias said higher "environmental taxes" will be levied on vehicles
based on the amount of emissions produced by their engine. So-called
"green" vehicles will reportedly enjoy a reduction in license and road
taxes, whereas gas-guzzling and older technology cars could see
increases of between 50 to 150 euros. The new rates will come into
force for 2010.

Souflias also announced a new programme (2009-12) to retire older
vehicles via incentives that will be funded by higher road taxes and
not the state budget.

Among others, the minister referred to the establishment of a "green"
perimeter in Athens that will exclude older model cars, while he
categorically rejected the options of toll booths in the city or
allowing diesel passenger cars.

The Greek pharmaceutical market is currently witnessing a wide-range of
changes, with Novartis taking the lead in the market, outpacing Pfizer
and Sanofi-Aventis in an environment of lower sales volume and higher
sales value, a report by IMS stated on Wednesday.

The report, measuring the sales of pharmaceutical enterprises to
pharmacies - the off-hospital pharmaceuticals market - in the first
five months of the year, showed that sales volume was down 0.3 pct,
compared with the corresponding period last year, while sales value was
up 6.8 pct reflecting the sales of new, pricier medicines.

Novartis, with a 17.7 pct rise in the value of sales, raised its market
share to 8.0 pct, leaving Pfizer behind in third position with a
7.9-pct market share and Sanofi-Aventis.

Vianez, representing Merck, among others, recorded a 4.2-pct rise in
sales with a market share of 6.4 pct. Boehringer Ingelheim is the only
multinational group to maintain a production unit in Greece and remains
the biggest exporter of Greek pharmaceutical products.

Former Hellenic Telecommunications Organization (OTE S.A.) board member
Georgios Skarpelis, one of the suspects in a large-scale bribery and
money-laundering case involving German multinational Siemens and its
Greek subsidiary, Siemens Hellas, will testify before a prosecutor on
Friday.

Skarpelis, who was detained pending trial, was initially released on
Tuesday following a decision by the Athens first instance court judges'
council (No 2319/09), only to be again remanded in custody based on a
new arrest warrant issued by an examining magistrate.

The building materials' composite price index fell 2.8 pct in June,
compared with the same month last year, after an increase of 8.2 pct
recorded in June 2008, the National Statistical Service said on
Wednesday.

The statistics agency said the index was up 0.1 pct in June from May,
while the average index for the 12-month period from July 2008 to June
2009 was up 3.4 pct, compared with the previous 12-month period.

An Olympic Airlines (OA) was forced to make an emergency landing at
Alexandroupolis' Democritus Airport, in northeastern Greece, on
Wednesday morning after reportedly flying into a flock of birds,
several of which were sucked into the plane's engines shortly after
takeoff.

OA flight 941 to Athens returned immediately to the airport where it
landed safely. The roughly 60 passengers of the plane reached their
destination with other airlines.